Abir Dandis, the mother of the two girls who were murdered in the Negev town of Al-Fura’a last week, couldn't find a police officer to listen to her warnings, neither in Arad nor in Ma’ale Adumim. Both police stations operate in areas where Israel wants to gather the Bedouin into permanent communities, against their will, in order to clear more land for Jewish communities. The dismissive treatment Dandis received shows how the Bedouin are considered simply to be lawbreakers by their very nature. But as a resident of the West Bank asking for help for her daughters, whose father was Israeli, Dandis faced the legal-bureaucratic maze created by the Oslo Accords.

The Palestinian police is not allowed to arrest Israeli civilians. It must hand suspects over to the Israel Police. The Palestinian police complain that in cases of Israelis suspected of committing crimes against Palestinian residents, the Israel Police tend not to investigate or prosecute them.

In addition, the town of Al-Azaria, where Dandis lives, is in Area B, under Palestinian civilian authority and Israeli security authority. According to the testimony of Palestinian residents, neither the IDF nor the Israel Police has any interest in internal Palestinian crime even though they have both the authority and the obligation to act in Area B.

The Palestinian police are limited in what it can do in Area B. Bringing in reinforcements or carrying weapons in emergency situations requires coordination with, and obtaining permission from, the IDF. If Dandis fears that the man who murdered her daughters is going to attack her as well, she has plenty of reason to fear that she will not receive appropriate, immediate police protection from either the Israelis or the Palestinians.

Dandis told Jack Khoury of Haaretz that the Ma’ale Adumim police referred her to the Palestinian Civil Affairs Coordination and Liaison Committee. Theoretically, this committee (which is subordinate to the Civil Affairs Ministry) is the logical place to go for such matters. Its parallel agency in Israel is the Civilian Liaison Committee (which is part of the Coordination and Liaison Administration - a part of the Civil Administration under the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories).

In their meetings, they are supposed to discuss matters such as settlers’ complaints about the high volume of the loudspeakers at mosques or Palestinians’ complaints about attacks by settlers. But the Palestinians see the Liaison Committee as a place to submit requests for permission to travel to Israel, and get the impression that its clerks do not have much power when faced with their Israeli counterparts. In any case, the coordination process is cumbersome and long.

The Palestinian police has a family welfare unit, and activists in Palestinian women’s organizations say that in recent years, its performance has improved. But, as stated, it has no authority over Israeli civilians and residents. Several non-governmental women’s groups also operate in the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, and women in similar situations approach them for help. The manager of one such organization told Haaretz that Dandis also fell victim to this confusing duplication of procedures and laws. Had Dandis approached her, she said, she would have referred her to Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, which has expertise in navigating Israel’s laws and authorities.

John Kerry revealed his long-awaited plan for peace in the Middle East on Sunday, hinging on a $4bn (£2.6bn) investment in the Palestinian private sector.

The US secretary of state, speaking at the World Economic Forum on the Jordanian shores of the Dead Sea, told an audience including Israeli president Shimon Peres and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that an independent Palestinian economy is essential to achieving a sustainable peace.

Speaking under the conference banner "Breaking the Impasse", Kerry announced a plan that he promised would be "bigger, bolder and more ambitious" than anything since the Oslo accords, more than 20 years ago.

Tony Blair is to lead a group of private sector leaders in devising a plan to release the Palestinian economy from its dependence on international donors. The initial findings of Blair's taskforce, Kerry boasted, were "stunning", predicting a 50% increase in Palestinian GDP over three years, a cut of two-thirds in unemployment rates and almost double the Palestinian median wage. Currently, 40% of the Palestinian economy is supplied by donor aid.

Kerry assured Abbas that the economic plan was not a substitute for a political solution, which remains the US's "top priority".

Peres, who had taken the stage just minutes before, also issued a personal plea to his Palestinian counterpart to return to the negotiations.

"Let me say to my dear friend President Abbas," Peres said, "Should we really dance around the table? Lets sit together. You'll be surprised how much can be achieved in open, direct and organised meetings."

Thick locks hug the front gates of shuttered shops, now covered in graffiti and dust from lack of use. Only a handful of customers pass along the dimly lit road, sometimes stopping to check the ripeness of fruits and vegetables, or ordering meat in near-empty butcher shops.

“All the shops are closed. I’m the only one open. This used to be the best place,” said 64-year-old Mustafa Sunocret, selling vegetables out of a small storefront in the marketplace near his family’s home in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Amidst the brightly coloured scarves, clothes and carpets, ceramic pottery and religious souvenirs filling the shops of Jerusalem’s historic Old City, Palestinian merchants are struggling to keep their businesses alive.

Faced with worsening health problems, Sunocret told IPS that he cannot work outside of the Old City, even as the cost of maintaining his shop, with high electricity, water and municipal tax bills to pay, weighs on him.

“I only have this shop,” he said. “There is no other work. I’m tired.”

Abed Ajloni, the owner of an antiques shop in the Old City, owes the Jerusalem municipality 250,000 Israeli shekels (68,300 U.S. dollars) in taxes. He told IPS that almost every day, the city’s tax collectors come into the Old City, accompanied by Israeli police and soldiers, to pressure people there to pay.

“It feels like they’re coming again to occupy the city, with the soldiers and police,” Ajloni, who has owned the same shop for 35 years, told IPS. “But where can I go? What can I do? All my life I was in this place.”

He added, “Does Jerusalem belong to us, or to someone else? Who’s responsible for Jerusalem? Who?”

Illegal annexation

Israel occupied East Jerusalem, including the Old City, in 1967. In July 1980, it passed a law stating that “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel”. But Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem and subsequent application of Israeli laws over the entire city remain unrecognised by the international community.

Under international law, East Jerusalem is considered occupied territory – along with the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Syrian Golan Heights – and Palestinian residents of the city are protected under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Jerusalem has historically been the economic, political and cultural centre of life for the entire Palestinian population. But after decades languishing under destructive Israeli policies meant to isolate the city from the rest of the Occupied Territories and a lack of municipal services and investment, East Jerusalem has slipped into a state of poverty and neglect.

“After some 45 years of occupation, Arab Jerusalemites suffer from political and cultural schizophrenia, simultaneously connected with and isolated from their two hinterlands: Ramallah and the West Bank to their east, West Jerusalem and Israel to the west,” the International Crisis Group recently wrote.

Israeli restrictions on planning and building, home demolitions, lack of investment in education and jobs, construction of an eight-foot-high separation barrier between and around Palestinian neighbourhoods and the creation of a permit system to enter Jerusalem have all contributed to the city’s isolation.

Formal Palestinian political groups have also been banned from the city, and between 2001-2009, Israel closed an estimated 26 organisations, including the former Palestinian Liberation Organisation headquarters in Jerusalem, the Orient House and the Jerusalem Chamber of Commerce.

Extreme poverty

Israel’s policies have also led to higher prices for basic goods and services and forced many Palestinian business owners to close shop and move to Ramallah or other Palestinian neighbourhoods on the other side of the wall. Many Palestinian Jerusalemites also prefer to do their shopping in the West Bank, or in West Jerusalem, where prices are lower.

While Palestinians constitute 39 percent of the city’s population today, almost 80 percent of East Jerusalem residents, including 85 percent of children, live below the poverty line.

“How could you develop [an] economy if you don’t control your resources? How could you develop [an] economy if you don’t have any control of your borders?” said Zakaria Odeh, director of the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem, of “this kind of fragmentation, checkpoints, closure”.

“Without freedom of movement of goods and human beings, how could you develop an economy?” he asked.

“You can’t talk about independent economy in Jerusalem or the West Bank or in all of Palestine without a political solution. We don’t have a Palestinian economy; we have economic activities. That’s all we have,” Odeh told IPS.

Israel’s separation barrier alone, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTD), has caused a direct loss of over one billion dollars to Palestinians in Jerusalem, and continues to incur 200 million dollars per year in lost opportunities.

Israel’s severing and control over the Jerusalem-Jericho road – the historical trade route that connected Jerusalem to the rest of the West Bank and Middle East – has also contributed to the city’s economic downturn.

Separation of Jerusalem from West Bank

Before the First Intifada (Arabic for “uprising”) began in the late 1980s, East Jerusalem contributed approximately 14 to 15 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the Occupied Palestinian territories (OPT). By 2000, that number had dropped to less than eight percent; in 2010, the East Jerusalem economy, compared to the rest of the OPT, was estimated at only seven percent.

“Economic separation resulted in the contraction in the relative size of the East Jerusalem economy, its detachment from the remaining OPT and the gradual redirection of East Jerusalem employment towards the Israeli labour market,” the U.N. report found.

Decades ago, Israel adopted a policy to maintain a so-called “demographic balance” in Jerusalem and attempt to limit Palestinian residents of the city to 26.5 percent or less of the total population.

To maintain this composition, Israel built numerous Jewish-Israeli settlements inside and in a ring around Jerusalem and changed the municipal boundaries to encompass Jewish neighbourhoods while excluding Palestinian ones.

It is now estimated that 90,000 Palestinians holding Jerusalem residency rights live on the other side of the separation barrier and must cross through Israeli checkpoints in order to reach Jerusalem for school, medical treatment, work, and other services.

“Israel is using all kinds of tools to push the Palestinians to leave; sometimes they are visible, and sometimes invisible tools,” explained Ziad al-Hammouri, director of the Jerusalem Centre for Social and Economic Rights (JCSER).

Al-Hammouri told IPS that at least 25 percent of the 1,000 Palestinian shops in the Old City were closed in recent years as a result of high municipal taxes and a lack of customers. “Taxation is an invisible tool…as dangerous as revoking ID cards and demolishing houses,” he said. “Israel will use this as pressure and as a tool in the future to confiscate these shops and properties.”

In the book Jewish History, Jewish Religion, by Israel Shahak (1933-2001), it is argued that while Islamic fundamentalism is vilified in the West, comparable Jewish extremism is largely ignored. In the book's foreword, Edward Said wrote: "... Shahak's mode of telling the truth has always been rigorous and uncompromising. There is nothing seductive about it, no attempt made to put it 'nicely,' no effort expended on making the truth palatable... For Shahak killing is murder is killing is murder: his manner is to repeat. (He) shows that the obscure, narrowly chauvinist prescriptions against various undesirable Others are to be found in Judaism (as in other monotheistic religions) but he always goes on to show the continuity between those and the way Israel treats Palestinians, Christians and other non-Jews. A devastating portrait of prejudice, hypocrisy and religious intolerance emerges."

Shahak's Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel picked up on the theme in explaining its pervasive, destructive influence in Israeli politics, the military and society. He noted that substituting German or Aryan for Jewish and non-Jews for Jews makes it easy to see how a superiority doctrine made an earlier genocide possible and is letting another happen now. Shahak called all forms of bigotry morally reprehensible and said: "Any form of racism, discrimination and xenophobia becomes more potent and politically influential if it is taken for granted by the society which indulges in it." For Israeli Jews, he believed, "The support of democracy and human rights is... meaningless or even harmful and deceitful when it does not begin with self-critique and with support of human rights when they are violated by one's own group. Any support of human rights for non-Jews whose rights are being violated by the 'Jewish state' is as deceitful as the support of human rights by a Stalinist..."

THE BIRTH OF MESSIANIC ZIONISM: As a leading Israeli human rights activist and Holocaust survivor, Shahak reviewed Jewish fundamentalist history, examined its currents, and explained the dangers of extremist messianic ones. They oppose equality of Jews and non-Jews and destroy democratic values by espousing dogma, calling Jews superior to all others.

The earlier influence of fundamentalist Rabbi Abraham Kook (1865-1935), or Kuk, was significant. He preached Jewish supremacy and said: "The difference between a Jewish soul and souls of non-Jews -- all of them in all different levels -- is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle." His teachings helped create the settler movement, and his son, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, founded the extremist Gush Emunim (GE) under the slogan: "The Land of Israel, for the people of Israel, according to the Torah of Israel."

Like the elder Kook, GE sees state power as a way forward to a new messianic era. It believes that God created the world for Jews. Others are lesser beings. Greater Israel belongs to Jews alone, and holy wars are acceptable to attain it.

Kook was Israel's first chief rabbi. In his honour, and to continue his teachings, the extremist Merkaz Harav (the Rabbi's Centre) was founded in 1924 as a yeshiva or fundamentalist religious college. It teaches that, "non-Jews living under Jewish law in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) must either be enslaved as water carriers and wood hewers, or banished, or exterminated."

It gets no more extremist than that, and highlights the dangers for Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories. Their lives and welfare are being sacrificed for a Greater Israel of Jews alone.

THE RELIGIOUS WAR: Gush Emunim adherents and other Israeli religious zealots plan it. They're active in politics, hold seats in the Knesset, are Netanyahu government coalition partners (including Shas, United Torah and Yisrael Beiteinu) and are prominently represented in Israel's military throughout its ranks and rabbinate. Chief military rabbi, Brigadier General Avichai Rontzki, called Operation Cast Lead a "religious war" in which it was "immoral" to show mercy to an enemy of "murderers". Many others feel the same way, prominently among them graduates of Hesder Yeshivat schools that combine extremist religious indoctrination with military service to defend the Jewish state.

In 1981, Rabbi Harav Lichtenstein's article, "The Ideology of Hesder: The View from Yeshivat Har Etzion", explained that: "Hesder... seeks to attract and develop bnei torah (religious individuals) who are profoundly motivated by the desire to become serious and talmidei machamim (religiously knowledgeable) but who concurrently feel morally and religiously bound to help defend their people and their country; who... regard this dual commitment as both a privilege and a duty... it thus enables them to maintain an integrated Jewish experience." Nearly all Hesder graduates perform combat service for up to six years. Today 41 schools operate throughout Israel. In 1991, Hesder was awarded the Israel Prize (the state's highest honour) for its exceptional service to the nation.

One commander expressed how many feel in explaining the military's mission: "We are the Jewish people. We came to this land by a miracle. God brought us back to this land and now we need to fight to expel the Gentiles who are interfering with our conquest of this holy land."

Extremist Israeli rabbis teach this ideology, and in 2003 Rabbi Saadya Grama, in Romemut Yisrael Ufarashat Hagalut (The Majesty of Israel and the Question of the Diaspora), argued that non-Jews are "completely evil" while Jews are genetically superior. Reform and conservative rabbis condemned it. Extremist orthodox ones endorsed it. More moderate rabbis said Grama advocates separating Jews from an intrinsically hostile anti-Semitic world. Rabbi Yosef Blau called the book "a call for a superior people to withdraw from the world and live in isolation while submitting to its enemies and placing trust in God."

THE NEAR THREAT OF EXTREMISM: Others in Israel teach the extremist notion that the 10 Commandments don't apply to non-Jews. So killing them in defending the homeland is acceptable, and according to Rabbi Dov Lior, chairman of the Jewish Rabbinic Council: "There is no such thing as enemy civilians in war time. The law of our Torah is to have mercy on our soldiers and to save them... A thousand non-Jewish lives are not worth a Jew's fingernail."

Rabbi David Batsri called Arabs "a blight, a devil, a disaster... donkeys, and we have to ask ourselves why God didn't create them to walk on all fours. Well, the answer is that they are needed to build and clean." Extremist zealots want them for no other purpose in Jewish society.

In 2007, Israel's former chief rabbi, Mordechai Elyahu, called for the Israeli army to mass murder Palestinians. In fanatical language he said: "If they don't stop after we kill 100, then we must kill 1,000. And if they don't stop after 1,000, then we must kill 10,000. If they still don't stop we must kill 100,000. Even a million. Whatever it takes to make them stop."

In March 2009, Safed's chief rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu called for "state-sponsored revenge" to restore "Israel's deterrence... It's time to call the child by its name: revenge, revenge, revenge. We mustn't forget. We have to take horrible revenge for the terrorist attack at Mercaz Harav yeshiva," referring to an earlier incident in which eight students died. "I am not talking about individual people in particular. I'm talking about the state. (It) has to pain them where they scream 'Enough,' to the point where they fall flat on their face and scream 'help!'"

In June 2009, US Hasidic Rabbi Manis Friedman voiced a similar sentiment in calling on Israel to kill Palestinian "men, women and children". "I don't believe in Western morality, ie don't kill civilians or children, don't destroy holy sites, don't fight during the holiday seasons, don't bomb cemeteries, and don't shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral. The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle)."

Views like these aren't exceptions. Though a minority, they proliferate throughout Israeli society, and are common enough to incite violence against Palestinians, even when they rightfully defend themselves as international law allows.

THE BROADER THREAT OF EXTREMISM: Israeli extremists are a minority but influential enough to make policy, and therein lies the threat to peace and likelihood of a sovereign Palestinian state. In his book, A Little Too Close to God, David Horovitz recalled that before prime minister Yitzhak Rabin's assassination he attended a Netanyahu-sponsored anti-Rabin rally he described as follows: "I felt as if I were among wild animals, vicious, angry predators craving flesh and scenting blood. There was elation in the anger, elation bred of the certainty of eventual success."

In his book, Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, Professor Mark Juergensmeyer compared the similarities among religious-motivated extremists, whether Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh or others. He related a conversation with Yoel Lerner who was imprisoned for trying to blow up the Dome of the Rock, the Muslim holy site, because he believed that an ancient Jewish temple stood there before it was destroyed. He expressed messianic Zionism in saying the "Messiah will come to earth only after the temple is rebuilt and made ready for him," so Jews must assure it's done. These views are prominent in high places and throughout Israeli society -- that is, religious fervour for a Greater Israel for Jews only, a Jewish state excluding all Arabs with violence an acceptable tool to remove them, and conflict will continue until they're gone.

REPORTS ON JEWISH EXTREMISTS: On 24 June, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency wrote a special report on Jewish extremists in which it described, "the face of radical Jewish nationalism in Israel... a movement of settler youths, rabbis, leaders and supporters determined to hold onto the West Bank at any cost." They represent a minority, but are a "vocal and increasingly violent constituency of the Jewish settler movement" rampaging against Palestinians and Israelis, confident that God is on their side, and that one day a "Torah-based theocracy (will) triumph over the State of Israel."

Rabbi Yisrael Iriel is one of its adherents, preaching Jewish superiority and unwillingness to cede any part of biblical Israel to non-Jews. He is one of a "small group of (extremist) rabbis who provide the theological and ideological underpinnings for radical settlers." The Israeli human rights group Yesh Din believes they number about 1,000 but exert considerable influence nonetheless. They constitute an extremist fringe element, determined to use violence to achieve their goals, and are supported by other West Bank settlers. One young adherent expressed their agenda by saying, "I think God chose a good and beautiful land for us," and we'll fight to keep it. If so, it makes peaceful resolution harder than ever to achieve, especially with political hard-liners in charge and most Israelis supporting them.

HATE LITERATURE TO ISRAELI SOLDIERS: Until discontinued on 20 July, a booklet published by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, in cooperation with Rabbi Shmuel Eliahu, entitled, "On Either Side of the Border" was given to Israeli army soldiers containing hateful fiction purported to be true. It suggested that the Pope and Vatican cardinals sympathised with Hizbullah's struggle and conspired with the organisation to kill Jews. It claimed that the Vatican organised Auschwitz tours to teach its members how to do it, and that Hizbullah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was invited to join a delegation to tour France, Poland, Italy and the Vatican.

The booklet also accused European politicians and journalists of conspiring against Israel. Rabbi Eliahu's aide, David Menahemov, claimed the booklet's material was true, even though the account portrayed was preposterous. Yet one Israeli soldier said everyone in the ranks reads and believes it. Many soldiers told him, "Read this and you'll understand who the Arabs are [and why the Israeli cause is just]."

During Operation Cast Lead, 10,000 mp3s were also distributed to Israeli forces with recorded extremist sermons. Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi Yona Metzger urged soldiers to "trust in God and know that war is being waged for the sanctification of His name ... and not to fear. [Soldiers] should not think of [their] wi(ves) or children or [their] mother (s) and father(s)."

Chief Sephardic Rabbi Shlomo Amar called the Gaza conflict "a holy mission that is being waged in the name of the entire Jewish people." Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu said, "Our intention is to uplift soldiers' spirits" in battle against Hamas terrorists. The Israeli army rabbinate division, Jewish Consciousness Field (JCF), also distributed a pamphlet entitled "Jewish Consciousness Emphases for Cast Lead" calling military rabbis "Anointed Priests of War."

A JCF officer, Shmuel Yurman, explained the pamphlet's purpose as follows: "This is the hour to strengthen our fighters in this heavenly commanded war that they have the merit to wage. Each (rabbi) has the knowledge and skills needed to contribute to the IDF battle spirit. Nevertheless, in order to enlighten and focus the spiritual message, JCF learned and prepared itself for this war before the operation began and as it was being fought. In meetings with soldiers and officers on the southern front we listened to the spiritual needs."

The head of JCF head, Rabbi Tzadok Ben-Artzi, justified the war saying: "We, the people who contributed to the world the book of books, who want to build a society based on creativity and peace, love of mankind and faith in good, find ourselves chased by blind hatred that is motivated by 'religious' terminology and aspires to bloodshed and cruelty." He advised Israeli army rabbis to say that the war's aim is "to save the Jewish people from its enemies" and eradicate evil in the world. Other extremist rabbis voiced the same sentiment, and, under Brigadier General Avichai Ronzki's command, the Israeli army's rabbinate theologised military missions and fed messianic dogma to young minds. Many in the ranks are already zealots enough to make spreading this gospel all the easier.

DIFFERENT SIDES OF ISRAEL'S RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY: Ronzki explains his actions and those of the military rabbinate by saying that "[we're] supposed to deal with helping soldiers to internalise Jewish values, spirit and consciousness as presented in Jewish sources. This is our main function as rabbis... (to) teach... what Judaism is." He and other zealots represent one side of Israel's religious community, comprised of two major groups -- religious Zionists and Charedim. Governed by their ideology, the former believe in the special relationship between God and Jews and see Israel from that perspective. They comprise about two-thirds of the religious community and eight per cent of the population.

Representing the other third and about 4.5 per cent of the population, the Charedim see Israel as a secular state, like most others in the country.

Ethnicity also defines religious segments. Sephardic Jews originated from the Middle East, North Africa and Spain. Ashkenazi Jews are from Eastern Europe and differ in religious and cultural traditions. Both communities attend separate synagogues in different neighbourhoods, yet are represented in religious Zionist and Charedim camps. Israel has two chief rabbis, one Ashkenazi, the other Sephardic.

Though a minority, Israel's religious community wields considerable influence politically, in the military and society overall. Moreover, synagogues and yeshivas are popular places where people gather to discuss issues of common interest and hear the views of their rabbinical leaders. The most extreme believe in Jewish sovereignty over all biblical Israel, so foregoing any of it is unthinkable. Thirteenth century Rabbi Moses Ben Nachman was their spiritual godfather. He wrote that Jews "should settle in the land and inherit it, because He gave it to them, and they should not reject God's inheritance." Now rabbis say it is "a mitzvah (commandment) to settle in the land and it is forbidden to leave it."

THE MESSIANIC COMING: What Rabbi Avraham Kook preached on the dependence of the coming of the messiah with Jews claiming hold on Israel also stands today. Today's most extreme zealots believe that conceding any biblical land will delay or subvert messianic redemption, and so can't be tolerated. Palestinians are called enemies for wanting land of their own. Yielding violates Jewish law, zealots believe.

In contrast, secular Charedim accept land concessions for peace and want the government to make policy, not religious Zionists based on biblical law. They believe Israel should serve the interests of all Jews, not one segment over another, and feel no part of Israel is too sacred to concede (except Jerusalem) if it best serves the Jewish people overall. They also believe that the Torah promotes peaceful co-existence and, except for defence, conflict is counterproductive. Like religious Zionists, they feel all biblical Israel belongs to the Jews, yet they're willing to concede some in the interests of peace.

Most religious Israelis fall somewhere in- between these groups. They believe that biblical Israel was promised to Jews, yet accept compromise to one degree or another to preserve life and serve the best interests of all Jews. How the future balance of power shifts from one side to the other will greatly influence the makeup of future Israeli governments and determine whether peaceful co- existence can replace over six decades of conflict and repression. So far it hasn't, and nothing suggests it will any time soon; not while extremist Zionists run the government, serve prominently in the Israeli army, and -- according to critics -- are gaining more power incrementally.

The writer is a research associate of the Centre for Research on Globalisation.

On March 15, 2006, the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly 170 to 4 (with only the US, Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau against) "to establish the Human Rights Council (HRC), based in Geneva, in replacement of the Commission on Human Rights, as a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly....responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner."

HRC "is an inter-governmental body within the UN system made up of 47 states responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe."

At its tenth session this year, HRC prepared a report titled: "Human Rights Situation in Palestine and other Occupied Arab Territories" and delivered it on March 20. It deals mainly with grave human rights violations in Occupied Palestine, especially due to Operation Cast Lead against Gaza.

It states that the "Occupied Palestinian Territory, particularly the Gaza Strip, has been affected by protracted conflict and occupation policies for decades." However, Operation Cast Lead caused "a dramatic deterioration of the living conditions of (a) civilian population" already reeling under an oppressive "20-month-long" siege. An estimated 80% of Gazans, especially women and children, were already dependent on humanitarian aid prior to the conflict's onset.

When it ended, an estimated 91% needed help as it gravely exacerbated current conditions for all 1.5 million Gazans with regard to food, health, housing, education, transportation, electricity and gas, agriculture, and virtually all other aspects of life. Even after the January 18 ceasefire, attacks continued, the siege remained, and free movement restrictions hampered recovery efforts and a return to normalcy. Gazans still suffer gravely in the aftermath of a three-week conflict worsening an already catastrophic humanitarian situation compounded by continued hostilities and a complete blockade - in gross violation of international law.

The Territory's complete dependence on external aid, by whatever means and in whatever amounts obtainable, makes Gazans vulnerable to political manipulation and a deepening crisis of poverty and desperation.

International Humanitarian Law

This writer discusses it often, especially the binding standards under Fourth Geneva relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Also the Hague Regulations, obligations under Geneva's Common Article 3, and principles of distinction and proportionality:

-- distinction between combatants and military targets v. civilians and non-military ones; attacking latter ones are war crimes except when civilians take direct part in hostilities; and

-- proportionality prohibitions against disproportionate, indiscriminate force likely to cause damage to or loss of lives and objects.

In addition, parties to a conflict must make take all precautions to avoid and minimize incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and damage to non-military sites. To alert civilians, "effective advance warning" must also be given, under Fourth Geneva; "neutralized zones" must be available to protect them as much as possible; and using human shields is strictly prohibited.

Other Fourth Geneva provisions prohibit:

-- collective punishment "for an offence he or she has not personally committed;"

-- the destruction of private or public property unrelated to military operations;

-- torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment at all times, under all circumstances, with no allowable exceptions;

-- assuring the population of adequate food and medical supplies and providing relief by all available means; and

-- allowing free passage of all "consignments" intended for civilian purposes.

Israel is a signatory to major human rights treaties relevant to the current situation and thus bound by their strict provisions:

-- Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights obligates parties to respect and ensure the rights of all persons in a territory;

-- according to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), applicable also are the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child among other binding laws;

-- UN human rights treaty bodies also affirm that as a party to international laws, Israel must fulfill its human rights obligations in Occupied Palestine as long as it maintains jurisdiction; they include ensuring free movement; various economic and social rights, especially the right to food, medical care, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, adequate housing, education, and freedom from discrimination.

Gaza's Deepening Crisis

Years of Israeli incursions and blockade devastated Gaza's infrastructure, environment, and lives of 1.5 million people. The World Bank estimates that 98% of industrial operations are inactive, and around 70,000 workers lost their jobs since 2007. In December 2008, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimated that 18 months of siege caused a 50% rise in unemployment, especially for women with only 11.5% of them employed in 2007, one of the world's lowest rates.

Suspending financial aid and tax transfers and revenues interrupted regular salary payments. Also, restrictions on currency transport caused a liquidity crisis enough to disrupt basic social services deliveries, forcing people to survive by any means possible.

During Operation Cast Lead, Israel inflicted destructive terror against a defenseless civilian population affecting vast numbers of non-military sites - hospitals and other health facilities, water and sanitation infrastructure, land and cellular communications networks, schools, universities, mosques, residential and government buildings, factories, commercial enterprises, farms, fishing boats, roads, bridges, transportation, power, UN buildings, and any living being that moved - all in gross violation of international laws.

Israel also willfully obstructed humanitarian personal leaving the poor, injured, and others without basic food, medical, and other essential services - crimes of war and against humanity under international law. Also, after hostilities ceased, the IDF continues obstructing humanitarian aid by maintaining its siege and restricting the work of civil society and human rights organizations.

HRC states that for Gaza and its population to revive, "all of (its) entry points must be opened to ensure freedom of movement for all, the free inflow of industrial and agricultural inputs and cash and the export of products" to buyers outside the Territory. Also that urgently needed fuel, construction materials, spare parts, and other essential supplies and services be allowed to be received normally.

Further, recovery depends on Gazans having income-generating work, including inside Israel and the West Bank as available, and access to education at all levels at home and abroad. The many thousands of injured, homeless, and displaced require special attention and aid, so far not forthcoming because Israel won't allow it and international leaders are silently complicit.

Besides the above-listed needs, HRC stresses that "to improve the lives of (Gazans) living in poverty, psychosocial support....is urgently needed," especially for children who've been severely traumatized by months of deprivation and conflict. "The rights of the victims of human rights violations to have access to remedy and reparations must also be respected.

Adequate Housing As Part of An Acceptable Standard of Living

Inadequate housing far predates Operation Cast Lead in Gaza and the West Bank - characterized by overcrowding, lack of sanitation, exacerbated by repeated incursions, home demolitions, construction restrictions, an oppressive military occupation, and the willful targeting of thousands of residences during the recent conflict. Destroyed were 4240 houses with another 44,300 damaged and mostly uninhabitable without extensive rehab - in total, over 20% of the Territory's housing affecting up to 90,000 people left homeless, many forced to live in the open.

Numerous Gazan communities are virtually uninhabitable. In urban areas and several refugee camps, entire neighborhoods were destroyed. The vast amount of damage gravely reduced the housing stock, remaining unrehabed because Israel prohibits the import of essential construction materials.

HRC expressed deep concern about "persisting impediments to the entry of reconstruction material," either by prohibition or protracted administrative delays, at a time when "international support for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of homes and neighborhoods is urgently needed." As a result, destitution and human suffering are deeper and the cycle of violation exacerbated.

The Fundamental Human Right to Food

Israel gravely violates this right while, at the same time, Dov Weisglass, advisor to former prime minister Ehud Olmert, talked of "putting Gazans on a diet" and deputy defence minister Matan Vilnai spoke of "a bigger shoah" to starve them - referring to the Nazi holocaust against the Jews. Against Muslims it's "acceptable."

According to various human rights organizations on the ground, Gaza's farmland and greenhouses were extensively bombed. The result was a devastating impact on the population to produce enough food for sustenance or trade. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimated that Operation Cast Lead damaged around 80% of agricultural land and crops. Also, sewage spills and toxic munitions contaminated vast areas of arable land.

OCHA reported that extensive destruction disrupted commercial enterprises and public infrastructure, including Gaza's largest flour mill and food processing plants. These are grave international law violations, exacerbated by Gaza remaining under siege. Border crossings are blocked. Little of anything gets in or out, and, as a result, severe shortages of everything afflict the Territory and people. A nutritional crisis and starvation affect a sizable per cent of the population and little is done for relief.

Currently, "the number of hungry people without access to basic food necessary" to survive remains at dangerously high levels. According to a December 18, 2008 Palestine Monitor Factsheet, 75% of Gazans eat less overall and 89% survive on less nutritious, cheaper diets than pre-siege and before food prices rose sharply in 2008. As a result, chronic malnutrition is rampant, especially for children. Up to half of them under age two suffer from anemia. Two-thirds of them are vitamin A deficient, and stunted growth affects 10% of them. Gazans are slowly being starved to death while world leaders collude with Israeli crimes.

The Right of Everyone to the Highest Attainable Standard of Physical and Mental Health

The long-standing Israeli-Palestinians conflict, Gaza siege, and Operation Cast Lead "resulted in grave violations of the right to" achieve adequate food and nutrition, clean water and sanitation, proper housing, and a healthy environment.

Gazans are trapped and gravely vulnerable to deteriorating physical and mental health as well as outbreaks of highly infectious diseases such as measles, polio, and hepatitis - exacerbated by Operation Cast Lead's destruction of vast infrastructure, including medical personnel and facilities:

-- 16 medical workers were killed and another 25 injured;

-- 15 hospitals, 43 primary health centers and 29 ambulances were targeted and destroyed; and

-- only 44 of 56 primary health care centers still operate.

As a result, basic facilities are inadequate for public needs, and the WHO estimates that 40% of chronically ill patients have no health care centers available for help. Nor is it available abroad as border crossings remain closed with entries and exits blocked.

The Right to Education

The siege and recent conflict severely impaired education - within and outside Gaza. School facilities suffered extensive damage and destruction, and minimal repairs only are possible as long as Israel blocks construction materials from entering.

UN schools were also hit. So was the American International School near Beit Lahiya and the Islamic University's science and engineering labs, Gaza's oldest and largest higher education facility, affecting over 20,000 students.

During the three-week Operation Cast Lead period, schools at all levels shut down, causing 540,000 students to miss nearly a month of classes. Then for many, there was no school to attend.

Even before the conflict, conditions were grossly inadequate with the Territory under siege:

-- overcrowding caused restricted school hours to accommodate morning and afternoon shifts for 450,000 students;

-- 200,000 refugee camp children at UN schools were especially impacted;

-- according to UNICEF, power shortages meant no heat or electricity for classrooms, and the blockade caused shortages of everything, including books, paper, pencils, chalk, and other essential materials and teaching aids; and

-- as a result, enrollment rates dropped, effective teaching was impaired, and student performance suffered hugely - with failure rates of 80% in grades four to nine and for mathematics up to 90%.

Causes and Consequences of Violence against Women

HRC called the "scale of civilian deaths, injuries and destruction during (Operation Cast Lead) unprecedented by all accounts," including its affect on women:

-- 116 killed and another 800 injured.

Women suffered critical injuries from bombings, artillery shells, rockets, live ammunition, willful targeting at chose range, being shot in their homes, and from use of illegal weapons like white phosphorous. Some injuries caused maiming and amputations, and for 40,000 pregnant women endangerment to their unborn and numerous cases of premature labor and delivery because of trauma from continuous bombing and shelling. Also, a UNFPA finding showed a 40% rise in miscarriages, a 50% increase in neonatal deaths, and a sharp increase in premature births.

A UNFPA February 2009 survey highlighted the psychological impact on women:

-- extreme fear and insecurity;

-- depression and sadness;

-- overall debilitation making them feel unfit as mothers and care-givers; and

-- vulnerability to violence and depravation in a "precarious and traumatic environment."

The Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons

For nearly 42 years, Israel's occupation policies have gravely harmed the human rights of Palestinians and caused "large-scale forced displacement....within the Occupied Palestinian Territory," even prior to Operation Cast Lead. Displacement results from:

-- incursions;

-- military clearing operations;

-- home demolitions and evictions;

-- land expropriation;

-- settlement expansions;

-- the Separation Wall;

-- settler violence and harassment;

-- closures, barriers, and checkpoints that deny free movement;

-- revocation of East Jerusalem residency rights; and

-- denial of construction permits to build on one's own land.

Operation Cast Lead alone left about 72,000 persons displaced, according to a shelter/Intern Development Programme preliminary report - conducted in 45 Gaza localities several days after the conflict ended.

International law prohibits forced displacement, yet Israel caused it by targeting densely populated areas with bombings, shellings and ground assaults. Thousands fled to UN shelters in terror. They, too, were then attacked.

Currently tens of thousands remain displaced because their homes were destroyed, and no materials are available to rebuild them. As a result, they're staying in poor, overcrowded areas in the open, or when possible, with members of extended families - already overstretched by impoverishment, inadequate food, water, electricity, and basic non-food items and facilities like mattresses, blankets, and enough space for new arrivals. The overall humanitarian situation is far more dire than before hostilities began given the vast amount of destruction, deaths and injuries over the three-week period.

On February 9, 2009, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that international agencies faced "unprecedented denial of access" to Gaza since the previous November, and that condition hasn't abated.

Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

HRC reported that "All killings during the Gaza conflict that violated applicable human rights and humanitarian law norms come within the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions." Best estimates put the number at around 1440 people, the great majority being civilians.

Further, "strong and credible reports" indicate grievous war crimes and other international violations occurred that beg for accountability. None so far are in prospect. The alternative is de facto impunity that "mocks the international legal order, makes hollow the international obligations undertaken and reaffirmed by the parties, increases the likelihood of more flagrant (future) violations, and poisons the prospects for an eventual solution to the conflict."

Disturbingly, that's where things now stand with Israel absolving itself of war crimes and refusing to cooperate when HRC investigators arrive in the region to begin their independent work. In a May 8 issued statement, the Richard Goldstone headed team said:

"In the course of its work, the mission intends to conduct visits to affected areas of southern Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including Gaza, and has requested the cooperation of Israel in this regard."

Goldstone stressed he would take a "law-based approach," not a political one to achieve "an objective assessment of the issues....in the interest of all parties (to) promote a culture of accountability (that can) serve to promote greater peace and security in the region."

HRC Recommendations

Briefly they include:

-- Israel's cooperation with HRC investigators;

-- ending the siege;

-- allowing unimpeded access and safe passage for humanitarian aid, including food, medicines, fuel, agricultural inputs, construction materials, and whatever else is needed to sustain, rebuild, and revive the shattered Territory;

-- let sick and injured persons be treated abroad and in Israel;

-- let those wishing to do so travel and study abroad; and

-- end all violations of binding international laws and commit no breaches thereof - to include:

(1) abiding by the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution;

(2) ending the killing of civilians;

(3) no longer using human shields;

(4) ending extrajudicial assassinations;

(5) terminating the use of illegal weapons like white phosphorous; and

(6) prohibiting attacks on medical personnel, ambulances, hospitals, schools, civilian infrastructure, UN buildings, and other non-military sites.

HRC also calls on UN entities to assess Palestinian needs and contribute to the wide-scale reconstruction of Occupied Palestine, including the vast amount of damage done to Gaza. It also asks the international community for help through the Security Council, International Court of Justice, and UN human rights mechanisms - and for all states to abide by international humanitarian law and work to restore a battered Palestine. Holding Israel accountable for its war crimes is a good way to start.

Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at: lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. (Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday - Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on major world and national issues.)

After two years of 'underground' work, it was launched with a 'successful press conference' and announcement that:

"The Russell Tribunal on Palestine seeks to reaffirm the primacy of international law as the (way to settle) the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Its work will focus on "the enunciation of law by authoritative bodies. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its opinion on the (Separation Wall in Occupied Palestine, addressed relevant) "International Humanitarian Law and International Human Rights Law, as well as dozens of international resolutions concerning Palestine." (Watch video, Part I, Part II)

This Tribunal will "address the failure of application of law even though it has been so clearly identified." It begins where the ICJ "stopped: highlighting the responsibilities arising from the enunciation of law, including those of the international community, which cannot continue to shirk its obligations."

The Russell Tribunal is part of the larger BRussell Tribunal, named after noted philosopher, mathematician, and anti-war/anti-imperialism activist Bertrand Russell. Established in 1967 to investigate Vietnam war crimes, it's a hearing committee, most recently on the Iraq war and Bush administration imperialism. Its work continues as "the only game in town for the anti-war movement in America, Britain and Europe" - to unite non-violently for peace on various world's hot spots, now for Occupied Palestine to expose decades of injustice against a defenseless civilian population.

National committees will be formed globally, including expert ones composed of jurists, lawyers, human rights and international law experts, weapons experts, and others "to work on the evidence against Israel and third parties" to be presented in Tribunal sessions. Two are planned, "the earliest....by the end of this year."

Frank Barat of the Organizing Committee urges activists to spread the news and offer support for this vital project. After Israel's unconscionable Gaza attack, it's never been more vulnerable given mass world public outrage. It's long past time to hold Israel accountable for its decades of crimes of war and against humanity, flaunting international humanitarian law, waging aggressive wars, continuing an illegal occupation, expropriating Palestinian land, and committing slow-motion genocide, so far with impunity. No longer can this be tolerated. The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is dedicated toward that end.

The Tribunal's Declaration on Iraq applies to Palestine. Substituting Israel for America and Palestine for Iraq, it reads as follows:

"The (Israeli) occupation of (Palestine) is illegal and cannot be made legal. All that has derived from (it) is illegal and illegitimate and cannot gain legitimacy. The facts are incontrovertible. What are the consequences?"

"Peace, stability and democracy in (Palestine) are impossible under occupation. Foreign occupation is opposed by nature to the interests of the occupied people, as proven" by:

-- the forced diaspora;

-- many others internally displaced or in refugee camps for decades;

-- harsh military subjugation;

-- a regimented matrix of control;

-- the genocidal Gaza siege;

-- state-sponsored mass incarceration, violence, and torture;

-- the flaunting of international law and dozens of UN resolutions;

-- targeted assassinations;

-- the many tens of thousands of Palestinians killed, injured, or otherwise grievously harmed;

-- massive land theft and home demolitions;

-- the lack of judicial redress;

-- denying all rights to non-Jews; and

-- a decades-long reign of terror against defenseless Palestinian civilians.

Western propaganda tries to justify the unjustifiable, vilify ordinary people, call the legitimate government "terrorist," rationalize savage attacks as self-defense, reject the rights of the occupied, and deny their self-determination.

"In (Palestine, people) resist the occupation by all means (including armed struggle), in accordance with international law. "The Commission on Human Rights has routinely reaffirmed" it. So have numerous General Assembly resolutions. The March 1987 Geneva Declaration on Terrorism states:

"Terrorism originates from the statist system of structural violence and domination that denies the right of self-determination to peoples....that inflicts a gross and consistent pattern of violations of fundamental human rights....or that perpetuates military aggression and overt or covert intervention directed against the territorial integrity or political independence of other states," such as Palestine.

The UN General Assembly has "repeatedly recognized" the rights of "peoples who are fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist regimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination (to) have the right to use force to accomplish their objectives within the framework of international humanitarian law."

It also recognizes the legitimacy of self-determination seeking national liberation movements and their right to strive for and receive appropriate support for their struggle. Further, under the UN Charter's Article 51, "individual or collective self-defense (shall not be "impair(ed) to respond against) an armed attack."

In other words, armed force is a legitimate form of self-defense as distinguished from "acts of international terrorism," especially by one state against another or any group, organization, or individual. Israel refuses to accept this. It continues an illegal occupation, calls armed resistance "terrorism," and imposes its will oppressively and illegally.

World leaders "continue to justify the negation of popular sovereignty under the rubric of (fighting terrorism), criminalizing not only resistance but also humanitarian assistance to a besieged (and beleaguered) people. Under international law, (Palestinian freedom-fighters) constitute a national liberation movement. Recognition of (them) is consequently a right, (an obligation, and) not an option." World leaders have a duty to hold Israel accountable under the law and no longer support its crimes.

Palestine "cannot recover lasting stability, unity and territorial integrity until its sovereignty is (recognized, affirmed,) guaranteed," and enforced by the world international community.

"If (world leaders) and (Israel want) peace, stability and democracy in (Palestine), they should accept that only the (Palestinian) resistance - armed, civil and political - can achieve these by securing the interests of (their) people. (Their) first demand....is the unconditional withdrawal of (Israeli forces) illegally occupying" their land.

Palestinians are the only legitimate force to secure their own security and rights under international law. "All laws, contracts (and other occupation-related) agreements....are unequivocally null and void. According to international law and the will of the (Palestinian) people, total sovereignty" over Palestine, its resources, culture, and all else (past, present, and future) rests in (their own) hands.

Further, international law demands that full "compensation....be paid" to compensate for what Israel plundered and destroyed. Palestinians want self-determination and "long-term peace" and security. They have every right to expect it. "We appeal to all peace loving people in the world to work to support" their struggle. Regional "peace, democracy, progress" and justice depend on it. The Russell Tribunal on Palestine is committed to work toward this end. Nothing short of it is acceptable.

Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at: lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen regularly, live or from archives, to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday through Friday at 10AM US Central time.

On February 10, Israel held parliamentary elections for 120 seats in its 18th Knesset. The process repeats every four years unless the body calls an earlier election by majority vote. The prime minister may also ask the president to request one early that will proceed unless the Knesset blocks it. Parliamentary terms may be extended beyond four years by special majority vote. Israel has no constitution. Under Article 4 of its Basic Law: The Knesset:

"The Knesset shall be elected by general, national, direct, equal, secret and proportional elections, in accordance with the Knesset Elections Law." Every Israeli citizen 18 or older may vote, including Arabs who are nominally enfranchised, may serve in the parliament, but can't govern or in any way influence policy.

Knesset seats are assigned proportionally to each party's percentage of the total vote. A minimum total is required to win any seats. Jewish parties alone are empowered. Arab parliamentarians have no decision-making authority. They're also constrained by the 1992 Law of Political Parties and section 7A(1) of the Basic Law that prohibits candidates from denying "the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people."

Under the law for Arabs and Jews, no candidate may challenge Israel's fundamental Jewish character or demand equal rights, privileges, and justice. The essential Zionist identity is inviolable. The law works only for Jews. Israeli Arabs have no rights. They're denied equal treatment and justice, even those elected to public office. Israel calls this democracy. South Africa called it apartheid. Nazi Germany called it fascism.

On January 12, the Central Elections Committee (CEC) banned two Arab parties from participating in the February elections on grounds of incitement, racism, supporting terrorist groups, and refusing to recognize Israel's right to exist. Two extremist right wing parties requested it - Yisrael Beiteinu and National Union. Named were United Arab List-Ta'al and Balad. All charges were bogus and hateful.

On January 21, Israel's High Court unanimously reversed the ban after Arab politicians appealed, but this behavior shows what Arab citizens face in a country affording rights only to Jews. Nonetheless, election law states that all votes are of equal weight, without saying only Jewish ones matter, not those of Arabs or members of other faiths. Israel is a Jewish state. Others are outsiders, unwelcome, unwanted, disadvantaged, without rights, and criminally abused at the whim of the government.

Israeli Election Results

Given the number of Israeli parties, coalitions are needed to govern as no single party ever won enough Knesset seats to do it on its own.

Below are the results of the February 10 elections:

Kadima:

-- 28 seats, one less than previously. Founded by Ariel Sharon and 13 other Likud members in November 2005, Kadima (meaning "forward" or "in-front"), calls itself "a broad popular movement which works to ensure the future of Israel as a Jewish democratic state." It's now Israel's largest political party. Its ideology is center-right and very militant.

Likud:

-- 27 seats compared to 12 in the previous Knesset. It was founded in 1973 as a right wing union of the revisionist Herut party with the Gahal and center Zionist parties. Its former prime ministers include Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Shamir, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ariel Sharon. Netanyahu again leads it. Its ideology is hard right and like Kadima is very militant.

Yisrael Beiteinu (or Israel is Our Home):

-- 15 seats, four more than the previous Knesset. It was founded in 1999 by Avigdor Lieberman, an ultranationalist and revisionist Zionist. In its January/February 2007 issue, the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs said his rise "makes (the) US - Israel alliance more dangerous," given his extremist views.

On Israeli Radio in November 2006, he called for the assassination of "militant" Palestinian leaders (meaning from Hamas and other resistance groups) and added: "They have to disappear, to go to Paradise, all of them and there can't be any compromise." He also wants all peace agreements (like Camp David and Oslo) abandoned, Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas ignored, and earlier urged that Israeli Arabs be deported and Arab Knesset members who met with Hezbollah or Hamas executed.

Haaretz called him an "unrestrained and irresponsible man....a threat (to Israel for) his lack of restraint and his unbridled tongue (that may) bring disaster (to) the whole region." Confrontation with Iran is one of his top priorities as well as continued illegal settlement expansions. Lieberman is hard-line and uncompromising. His party surpassed Labor to rank third in popularity.

Labor:

--13 seats compared to 19 in the previous Knesset. Founded in 1968 by the union of the Mapai, Ahdut HaAvoda, and Rafi parties. Its ideology is Zionist, neoliberal, and militant like the above three parties. Former prime ministers include David Ben-Gurion, Golda Meir, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, and Ehud Barak. Barak is its current leader.

Shas:

-- 11 seats, one less than the previous Knesset. Founded in 1984 by rabbis Ovadia Yosef and Elazar Shach, it's an extremist right wing religious party led by Eli Yishai, Israel's deputy prime minister in its 17th Knesset.

The National Union Party:

-- 4 seats. Founded in 1999 by Rehavam Ze'evi and Avigdor Lieberman. Now led by Ya'akov Katz, it's extremely militant, supports settlements in all the Land of Israel (as biblically defined), and advocates expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank, preferably on a voluntary basis.

Jewish Home Party:

-- 3 seats. It was founded in 2008 by a merger of the National Religious Party, Moledet, and Tkuma. Modelet then broke away, and half of Tkuma rejoined National Union. Now led by Daniel Hershkovitz, it's a moderate right wing, pro-settler, religious Zionist party.

Hadash-Democratic Front for Peace and Equality:

-- 4 seats, a gain of one. Founded in 1977, it's a Jewish-Arab party led by Mohammad Barakeh. Its ideology counters the above right wing bloc with little public support. It's anti-Zionist, favors dismantling Israeli settlements, ending the occupation, and backs the right of return, full equality for Israeli Arabs, and a comprehensive stable peace.

New Movement Meretz:

-- 3 seats compared to 5 in the previous Knesset. Founded in 1992, it's a labor Zionist, social democratic party led by Haim Oron.

United Torah Judaism:

-- 5 seats, one less than previously. Founded in 1992, its ideology is strict adherence to the laws of the Torah. Its current leader is Yaakov Litzman.

Balad:

-- 3 seats compared to none in the previous Knesset. Founded in 1995, its ideology is Arab nationalism and democratic socialism. Its current leader is Jamal Zahalka.

United Arab List-Ta'al:

-- 4 seats, up from none in the previous Knesset. Founded in 1996, it represents Israeli Arabs under its current leader Ibrahim Sarsur.

Israel has about 20 other minor parties. None got enough votes to win seats. The big loser was Gil. It had seven previously. Now it has none. Led by Rafi Eitan, it's ideology is social welfare and pro-elder care.

Israel Shifts to the Right

On January 15, a Haaretz-Dialog poll showed widespread support for the Gaza war with less than 10% of Israelis calling it a "failure." Despite mass slaughter, destruction, and human suffering, 82% of respondents believed the IDF hadn't "gone too far."

It played out strongly in the February elections with center to far right parties winning decisively - 104 of the 120 seats or 86.6% of the Knesset. In spite of mass global condemnation, Israelis stood firm on hard-line militarism, candidates favoring conflict over conciliation, and continued occupation of Palestine in lieu of peace.

Negotiations continue for a new government, but policy is clear whoever becomes prime minister. Under Tzipi Livni or Benjamin Netanyahu, Gaza's siege will continue. So will West Bank oppression, conflict over peace, leaders affirming it in rhetoric and policy, and international community support will back them. Grim times persist for Palestinians, isolated and on their own after decades of occupation and abuse.

On February 11, Juan Cole's web site headlined: "Right Wing Sweeps Israel" in an election that "sounded the death knell for the two-state solution." One never existed, of course, because separation accelerates land annexation, and equity demands one democratic state for members of all faiths equally.

After the February 10 elections, that possibility is more remote than ever with figures like Avigdor Lieberman emerging as "kingmaker." He rose in prominence on a racist platform against 20% of the population and now wants them "executed," expelled, or at least forced to sign loyalty oaths.

Under a hard-line Netanyahu or Livni government, Cole sees one of three possibilities:

-- a hardened apartheid giving Palestinians fewer rights than ever and no control over their land, borders, water and air; Palestinians won't accept it, so conflict ahead is assured;

-- a violent expulsion policy affecting all Palestinians, including Israeli Arabs to purify Greater Israel for Jews; Cole believes that "This option would almost certainly end the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan" because a population outflow this great would create tensions in both countries and they'd react; they and other Arab states might also ally with Iran and create a new problem for America and Israel.

-- a single-state solution; impossible now but over time economic, technological, and political boycotts may force one.

As for Obama reviving the peace process and a viable two-state solution, both prospects aren't possible given Israel's shift to the right and the Israeli Lobby's influence against it.

In a February 10 Nation magazine article, Neve Gordon disagrees. Headlined: "Few Peacemakers in Israel's Knesset," he believes it's for "the world, and particularly the Obama administration, to respond," unmindful of his one-sided Israeli support and reluctance to counter its policy.

Nonetheless, Gordon hopes that Obama "will make good on his promise for change and introduce a courageous initiative that will finally bring peace to Israelis and Palestinians" under a two-state solution "to resolve this bloody conflict once and for all."

"With determination and political boldness he can do just that." Perhaps so but he won't. Obama is timid, not bold. He "crossed the River Jordan," according to James Petras. His administration is filled with Zionist zealots professing unconditional support for Israel. With that team in place, Israeli interests matter. Palestinian ones don't. Change awaits a new day in Israel and Washington, and given Tel Aviv's likely government, it's more in the future than ever.

Prospects are grim with Israeli Arab Knesset member (MK) Ahmed Tibi calling Livni "90% Lieberman and 10% Netanyahu." For his part, Netanyahu is 100% hard-line, and won't give an inch on compromise. As head of state, he promises to destroy Hamas. As 1996 - 1999 prime minister, his agenda was three "nos:"

-- no Golan Heights withdrawal;

-- no discussion, division, or relinquishing of Jerusalem, and

-- no precondition negotiations with Arafat, meaning Palestinian relations depend on full compliance with Israel demands.

Today he's more hard-line than ever, vows as prime minister to "thwart the Iranian threat," and sabotage Tehran's nuclear program once and for all by any means necessary. He also opposes the peace process, wants expanded illegal West Bank settlements, and, like Lieberman, called for "mass deportations of Arabs from the Territories."

For her part, Livni is no less hard-line in vowing to overthrow Hamas if elected and finish subduing Gaza. As kingmaker, Lieberman won't join any government that will "agree directly or indirectly to Hamas staying in power." He opposed last month's ceasefire that "prevented the IDF from finishing the job" and stops just short of demanding renewal.

As a result, AP reported on February 11 that Arabs see little chance for peace under any new government and fear the emergence of Israel's far right. It cited Middle East newspapers decrying Lieberman's rise, denouncing him as racist with Syria's Al-Thawra saying: "The Israelis are electing war and extremism....so long as the Israel street is extremist and racist, the government would be like it."

In Iran, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi called it "regretful" that all sides were hard-line in their campaigns. "Each party tried to show a more brutal, aggressive and pro-occupation face...." He added that Iran has no official position on the election as it doesn't recognize any Israeli government.

Oraib al-Rentawi, head of the Al Quds Center for Political Studies, said a Livni government may market an illusory peace process, but under Netanyahu, "the mission will be far more difficult." Others think it impossible no matter who's prime minister given that 61 years of oppression prevented any from emerging thus far. With Israel's far right shift, it's less likely now than ever.

Forming A New Government

Under Israel's Basic Law, the president (a symbolic, ceremonial post), lets one Knesset member form a new government and head it as prime minister.

The law reads as follows:

"When a new government has to be constituted, the President of the State shall, after consultation with representatives of party groups in the Knesset, assign the task of forming a Government to a Knesset Member (MK) who notified him that he is prepared to accept the task."

Time constraints are imposed - a maximum 28 days but the President may extend it for an additional 14. If a government can't be formed or if the Knesset rejects the one proposed, "the President may assign the task....to another Knesset Member who has notified him that he is prepared to accept the task...." No mention of a "she."

"When the Knesset Member has formed a Government, he shall notify the President of the State and Speaker of the Knesset" within a designated period. The MK who "formed a Government shall head it."

On February 16, Haaretz reported that Netanyahu "said earlier that he would begin forging a coalition with his party's 'natural partners' as soon as possible" even though Kadima bettered Likud by one seat.

Livni said she'd only join a Netanyahu coalition on a rotating prime ministerial basis. Jockeying for position continues amid conciliatory and hostile rhetoric with one Likud MK (Silvan Shalom) accusing Livni of "shtick, tricks, (and) scheming (that could) sabotage the standard political process." He added that election results affirmed Netanyahu as the rightful prime minister so allow him to "form a government as soon as possible."

Prime minister Olmert mentioned post-election uncertainty and suggested that Livni join a Likud coalition "with Kadima as a central factor." At the same time, Olmert advised Livni to head the opposition to ensure a clear victory next time.

On February 17, Labor's Housing and Construction Minister, Isaac Herzog, told Haaretz that neither Livni or Netanyahu can form a new government that will hold. "At this rate, (he suggested) we will find ourselves in the midst of new elections within a few months" because Livni agreed to ally with Yisrael Beitenu.

Labor whip, Eitan Cabel was even more strident saying: "The scam that is Kadima has now been exposed before all. If the leftist voters who gave their ballot to Livni would have known (they'd be) in bed with Lieberman, they would have demanded their votes back."

President Peres spoke about the complicated task he faces:

"On Wednesday (February 11) at 6PM, I will get the official results," and will then try to form a unity government. "The nation told me to consider the election results honestly and as the law prescribes, so I will make my decision after I hear out all the parties."

On February 15, the Jerusalem Post reported new developments in a story headlined: "Police have evidence of money laundering against Lieberman." Quoting former National Fraud Unit's Boaz Guttman, writer Yaakov Lappin said "Police amassed sufficient evidence to link....Lieberman" with these charges. It's believed that he used Cypriot bank accounts under his daughter's name - for money laundering and possible fraud and bribes. "The police source said there was no doubt about money laundering," but that prosecution could be a long way off given complex hurdles to be overcome before charges lead to a trial.

Guttman added that fallout affecting Lieberman could be considerable since he's now damaged goods. Forming a new government is more complicated and important positions for Lieberman are off-limits - including finance and public security.

On the same day, Tehran's Press TV reported that "An Israeli defense strategy report for 2009 has tasked the military with making preliminary preparations for launching a war against Iran." It calls the country "the No. 1 threat the IDF is now preparing for," and cites Tehran as "a threat to Israel's existence" without any evidence to prove it. There is none because Iran threatens no other country but is prepared to defend itself if targeted.

Nonetheless, "Israeli officials argue that a military attack is a legitimate option for taking out Iran's nuclear infrastructure" even though the IAEA says it complies with NPT provisions. Israel is a nuclear outlaw non-signatory.

Earlier, Tel Aviv asked the Bush administration for bunker-buster bombs, green light permission to attack, and overflight and refueling rights over Iraq. It was rebuffed in favor of covert sabotage efforts.

For its part, Iran is seeking sophisticated Russian S-300 long-range surface-to-air missiles. They can intercept aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles so pose a formidable defense against attack. Lexington Institute vice-president and Pentagon advisor Dan Goure said "If Tehran obtained the S-300, it would be a game-changer in military thinking for (targeting) Iran." It might also prevent a Middle East holocaust if Washington and/or Israel seriously consider one, something even the Bush administration didn't pursue.

On February 16, the UK Telegraph headlined: "Israel launches covert war against Iran" with writer Philip Sherwell calling it "an alternative to direct military strikes against Tehran's nuclear programme, US intelligence sources have revealed."

It includes planned assassinations of "top figures involved in Iran's atomic operations" as well as "sabotage, front companies and double agents to disrupt the regime's 'illicit' weapons project, the experts say."

According to a former (unnamed) CIA officer, the idea is to slow progress without Iran knowing what's happening. "The goal is delay, delay, delay until you can come up with some other solution" because the Obama administration may prefer non-military efforts for now.

Rumors are that Mossad was behind the mysterious 2007 "gas poisoning" death of Ardeshire Hassanpour, Iran's top nuclear scientist at its Isfahan uranium plant. Other suspicious deaths were also reported, and according to an unnamed European intelligence official, "Israel (doesn't hesitate) assassinating weapons scientists" or anyone else for that matter.

Israeli security and intelligence journalist, Yossi Melman, said that "Without military strikes, there is still considerable scope for disrupting and damaging the Iranian program, and this has been done with some success." Tehran is alerted to the threat and has measures in place to counteract it.

Observers are following the rhetoric and watching as events unfold. In the meantime, jockeying and deal-making continue as Netanyahu and Livni try outmaneuvering each other to form a new government. Whoever wins, Palestinians, Israelis, and most others will be losers.

On February 19, AP reported that Lieberman endorsed Netanyahu, "all but guaranteeing that (he'll) be the country's next leader." Haaretz went further saying that "65 MKs announced (for) Netanyahu (so) it appears that his path to the premiership is (now) paved." Livni called it "the foundation....for an extreme right-wing government." Lieberman wants Kadima in it. Likud said it would try to forge a broad coalition, and Peres may shortly announce Netanyahu will lead it.

Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. He contributed this article to PalestineChronicle.com. Contact him at: lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. (Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to The Global Research News Hour on RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday through Friday at 10AM US Central time for cutting-edge discussions of world and national issues with distinguished guests.)